Upcoming Opening Day Programme
Artist Talk | In Dialogue with Eko Nugroho and John Tung 22.08.2026
About The Public Programme
Learn more about how renowned Indonesian artist Eko Nugroho’s hybrid characters imbue his perspectives on the digital age. From societal alienation to national identity, the conversation touches on prescient themes which underpin works from his latest residency at STPI. This talk will be moderated by independent curator John Tung.
About the artist

Eko Nugroho
Residencies in 2012, 2025
Eko Nugroho (1977, born and based in Yogyakarta, Indonesia) is known for his multidisciplinary practice that merges traditional Indonesian techniques such as batik, embroidery and shadow puppetry, with the contemporary visual language of street art, caricature, animation and comics. Through vivid imagery, his work examines socio-political themes including democracy, freedom, identity and the urban environment.
Newly enrolled as a student in 1998 when Indonesian President Suharto's regime came to a turbulent end, Nugroho experienced first-hand how the subsequent Reformasi era would transform his country. In particular, the liberation of speech and the import of foreign media—such as comic books and Pop Art approaches—became strong influences on Nugroho’s practice. His iconic masked face motif arose from these early years of exploration, which alludes to notions of disguise, conformation, protection and the ability to transcend identity. In his embroidered works, Nugroho references sewn patches used by politicians, military and biker gangs to denote identity, status and affiliation. Community collaboration is central to his sewing projects, where the artist engages local craftspeople displaced by the computerisation of embroidery.
Nugroho obtained his BFA in Painting at the Indonesian Art Institute, Yogyakarta in 2006. His work is held in major collections including the Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris; Musée des Beaux-arts de Lyon; Denver Art Museum, Colorado; Asia Society, New York; Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; Haus Der Kulturen Der Welt, Berlin; Tropen Museum, Amsterdam; M+, Hong Kong; and Singapore Art Museum.
Notable solo exhibitions include God Bliss (In the Name of Semalah) (2017), Asia Society, New York; Lot Lost (2016), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; and Témoin Hybride (2012), Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris. The artist has also participated in major international festivals festivals including Restoration of the Sea (2019), 4th Setouchi Triennale, Ibukijima; Burning Down the House (2014), 10th Gwangju Biennale; SIASAT (2013), 15th Jakarta Biennale; Indonesia Encounters the Arab Region (2013), 12th Biennale Jogja, Yogyakarta; The Encyclopedic Palace (2013), 55th Venice Biennale; The Spectacle of the Everyday (2009), 10th Lyon Biennale; Fluid Zones (2009), Jakarta Biennale; Expenditure (2008), Busan Biennale; Dirty Yoga (2006), Taipei Biennale; and APT5 (2006), 5th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane.
Nugroho had two residencies at the STPI Workshop in 2012 and 2025; the former culminated in the exhibition We Are What We Mask (2013).
Find Out MoreAvailable works
Exhibition

Upcoming Solo Exhibition
Eko Nugroho: STRANGE MONSTER VIEW
2026-08-22 — 2026-10-10
In Eko Nugroho’s surreal universe, monsters lurk closer than we think. Figures shapeshift between man and machine, inhabiting hybrid forms from parallel dimensions. Drawing on influences from street art, graffiti and comics, these graphic renderings of masked creatures transform Nugroho’s daily observations into a playful critique of lived realities, unveiling themes of identity, perception and belonging.
Grounded in everyday encounters from his second residency at STPI, this exhibition extends Nugroho’s wry inquiry of social norms in Singapore into a masquerade of chilli crabs and cyborgs. Here, he turns his astute eye to tourism, architecture and culture in the city-state, examining shared experiences that shape national identity and community. Mutated by televisions and smartphones, Nugroho’s characters mirror dystopian futures of a digitally saturated age—where screen addictions alter our minds and selves into unrecognisable forms.